Rock Island daily Argus., 1887-12-24
4 CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS, 1862.



We reached California late in the fall of
1852, and before we knew it could be winter
in country where the grass was freshly
sprouting and the trees bright and green,
Christmas was upon us, and no turkey in the
state. The children held solemn conclave
and concluded that Santa Claus could never
get so far, besides there was no snow for his
sleigh to travel on.
As said, there was probably not one
turkey in the whole state, and though there
were a few chickens, no one would have con-
sented for moment to kill them when eggs
were worth 81 apiece. So our hopes for an
old fashioned Christmas fell far below zero,
and in spite of our best endeavors we felt
little blue and homesick
There was plenty of the poor Spanish beef
to be obtained, and also veal, but a sucking
pig would have been an impossibility, and
there was absolutely no fruit in the country
except such as grew wild, and, of course,
there was none at this season, but the genius
of women for making something out of moth
ing is proverbial, and the men of the family
I thought the women would pull through some
how, though how was that to be without fruit,
ckko, lll4th VI CIcd4l. luuctu, dty tAluS CA
cept bayou beans, Spanish beef and very
few potatoes, and no onions to season any,
thing with, nor knives' This was in what is
Oakland now, but at that time there were but
three wooden houses and a few tents there.
The two women put their heads together
and finally decided that they could at least
make a plum pudding, but in the little
'.storen there were no raisins, nothing but
dried apples They bought six eggs, paying
IS for them, considering the season, and took
some dried apples. These were put to soak
over night and on Christmas morning they
were chopped into small bits, and with the
eggs and plentiful supply of molasses, -four
and suet, a big pudding was put into bag
| and over the fire to boil. This success stimu-
lated the women to try an apple pie or so.
In the meantime big rib of beef was duly
| salted and peppered and surrounded with
| potatoes, and was made ready to put in the
oven when Uncle Charlie, who was mighty
hunter, suddenly made his appearance with
a big fat goose in one hand and fine big
turkey, as we thought, in the other, both
| plucked and dressed, ready for the oven.
Some one was sent to buy an onion, as the
grandmother said the goose really must have
OHpu III Tue SluillllE, dtu lOI tildt JIG lttl1c
onion, no larger than an egg, we paid 81
and were glad to get it at that price. Grand
mother brought out her wonderful bag of
herbs and little of very precious sage, and
summer savory was sifted into the dressing
and the two fine birds were put down to cook,
and we al began to rejoice that even in far
off California Christmas was not quite lost.
TIE two birds now cooking had been shot
early that morning. One was a honker
goose and the other was an enormous sand
hill crane, or, as they were then called, Cali.
fornia turkey, These immense birds grow
very fat and are really delicious eating, as
we found at dinner time. And when the
table was laid out with the finest linen and
choice dishes that had followed the family
fortunes around the Horn" that dinner
was voted success, but the pudding, covered
with blazing bsandy, looked just as Christ
mas like as if it had been a real plum one
though it had asprig of ''live oak instead
Of holly in it, and although it did not takt
quite as good.
After dinner We had games, and though
the children missed the hanging up of tn,
stockings, they went to bed happy in th,
hope, afterward fulfilled, that Santa Clau
might get there by New Years, seeing tha
they lived too far away for him to reacl
them on Christmas.